VlokFeest

The Party Started in Lockdown

VlokFeest arrived on the online chess scene in March 2020, right as the real world was cancelling every actual party, which makes the handle feel almost prophetic. Depending on how you read the Dutch, it suggests something close to a "flake party," and the games have often matched: frosty, chaotic, and occasionally an avalanche. 2619 (2026-07-14) is the headline number, but the road to it is the real story.

The Long Climb

The blitz career began promisingly near 1985, then immediately fell down the stairs, bottoming out at 1592 in November 2020. What followed was one of the most patient rebuilds in recent memory: back through the 1700s in 2021, past 2000 by that December, into the 2200s by late 2023, and finally a summit reached in July 2026. Over a thousand points recovered, one grudge match at a time.

Opening Repertoire: Fortress on c6

As Black, VlokFeest is a Caro-Kann Defense loyalist of the first order, with well over 600 blitz games behind that humble pawn push to c6. The pitch is simple: let White get ambitious, then slowly make them regret it.

With the white pieces, the main weapon is the Amazon Attack, especially the Siberian Attack, backed up by the delightfully obscure Hungarian Opening: Wiedenhagen-Beta Gambit, which wins around 60% of blitz outings. Add in dalliances with the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, the Scandinavian, and the Czech Defense, and you have a repertoire with real variety-show energy.

Nemeses and Morale Boosters

Every grinder has a kryptonite list. RootselRikkie has faced VlokFeest 78 times and leads the series comfortably, 52 wins to 22. Onno Elgersma is even more merciless, 37 wins to 4 across 44 meetings, which surely qualifies as a longitudinal research project by now. On the sunnier side, larsiebasie is a perfect foil at 9 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw, one of several friendly rivals who exist mainly to protect morale.

The Daily Chess Mystery

Then there is daily chess, where something went profoundly sideways. VlokFeest actually peaked at 1914 in daily back in March 2020, then watched the number collapse to 790, where it has sat ever since, immovable, like a garden gnome that refuses to leave the lawn. The bravest and saddest chapter: as Black in daily games, the Barnes Defense was trotted out 58 times for 58 losses, a devotion to a doomed idea that borders on performance art. The overall daily ledger reads 167 wins against 461 losses. Some mysteries keep their secrets.

Style: Grind, Comeback, Repeat

• Comeback artist with an 84% rate of rescuing lost-looking positions, which explains why opponents keep rage-quitting the postgame analysis.
• Endgame dweller: about 73% of games reach an endgame, and wins average 77 moves while losses wrap up near 68. Patience is the entire brand.
• Rarely resigns early, doing so in only about 10% of games. If you want the point, you will have to come and take it.
• Streak collector: a personal best 45-game winning streak, seasoned with a 33-game losing streak somewhere in the freezer.
• Clock sensitive: the win rate peaks around 56% at 6 AM and craters to 9% at 5 AM. One hour is the difference between a chess machine and someone who should be asleep.

The Verdict

VlokFeest is proof that a rough first year is just the opening moves of a much longer game. Six years of Caro-Kann walls, Siberian raids, and one unexplained 790 rating later, the blitz peak stands as a monument to stubbornness. If you get paired against this account, bring your patience, mind the clock, and pray you are not matched at 6 AM, because that is when the strongest version shows up.